Ilena
LightNews LightNews
ilenapeng.bsky.social
Ilena
@ilenapeng.bsky.social
2.2K followers 150 following 31 posts
agriculture reporter @bloomberg.com‬, covering what's in your mocha ☕🍫🥛 etc | ipeng5@bloomberg.net, signal @ilena.11
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Ilena
bloomberg.com
Trump asked the Justice Department to start an investigation into the meatpacking industry, accusing them of “driving up the price of Beef through Illicit Collusion, Price Fixing, and Price Manipulation"
Trump Asks Justice Department to Probe Meatpackers Over Prices
President Donald Trump asked the Justice Department to start an investigation into the meatpacking industry, accusing them of “driving up the price of Beef through Illicit Collusion, Price Fixing, and Price Manipulation.”
bloom.bg
November 7, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Reposted by Ilena
bloomberg.com
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said China has agreed to buy 12 million metric tons of soybeans this year.
Bessent Says China to Buy 12 Million Tons of Soybeans This Year
China has agreed to buy 12 million metric tons of soybeans this year, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, providing some relief to US farmers who have anxiously awaited the resumption of exports to the Asian nation.
bloom.bg
October 30, 2025 at 3:00 PM
ilenapeng.bsky.social
It's been spooky season for the #cocoa market for a while. Now higher prices are giving non-chocolate treats that were already trendy (think sour gummies) even more room to grab market share this #Halloween.

🎃🔗: www.bloomberg.com/news/article... via @bloomberg.com
High Cocoa Costs Put Chocolate Makers on Edge for Halloween
Halloween is shaping up to be a test for the chocolate industry, as high cocoa costs threaten to accelerate a consumer shift toward cheaper and trendier sweets such as sour gummies.
www.bloomberg.com
October 29, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Reposted by Ilena
bloomberg.com
President Trump said his administration had struck an agreement to bring down the price of beef for consumers during an event in the Oval Office on Thursday
Trump Says He’s ‘Worked Our Magic’ on Deal to Lower Beef Prices
President Donald Trump said his administration had struck an agreement to bring down the price of beef for consumers during an event in the Oval Office on Thursday.
bloom.bg
October 16, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Reposted by Ilena
bloomberg.com
US homebuilders and retailers warn that higher costs could push housing prices and furniture costs higher as the trade fight over wood products escalates once again. Here’s what to know.
Trump’s Wood Tariffs Are Coming. Who Will Be Hit Hardest
President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs on imported lumber and wood products that his administration says are needed to protect the US economy and boost domestic manufacturing. Starting Oct. 14, softwood lumber will face 10% duties, while kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, and other finished wood goods will be hit with 25% tariffs that rise further in January.
bloom.bg
October 9, 2025 at 1:01 PM
ilenapeng.bsky.social
A hike in US duties on Canadian wood was meant to protect prices for American producers. It still hasn't been enough to stop futures prices from plunging to a 7-month low as housing demand falls.

🪵🔗: www.bloomberg.com/news/article... via @bloomberg.com
Line chart of the most-active lumber futures contract traded in Chicago, which on September 18 touched the lowest in seven months
September 19, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Reposted by Ilena
aggiedesousa.bsky.social
It's time for pitless cherries - thanks to gene-editing technology.

Startup Pairwise and fruit breeder Sun World International will work to bring it to the market in the next decade - @ilenapeng.bsky.social reports in the latest Business of Food newsletter.

www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
After Seedless Grapes, Now for the Pitless Cherry
Cherries with no pits are set to (eventually) hit grocery shelves thanks to gene-editing technology.
www.bloomberg.com
September 19, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Reposted by Ilena
deenashanker.bsky.social
every rural county should be considered up for grabs in the midterms

a must read from @ilenapeng.bsky.social

(with a gift link!)

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
American Farmers Are Feeling the Pain of Trump’s Policies
US agricultural communities that had expected Trump to have their backs have found themselves flung into a second trade war. If the situation continues, it could put loyalties at risk.
www.bloomberg.com
September 19, 2025 at 2:10 AM
ilenapeng.bsky.social
America's farmers are hurting & worried that politicians aren't getting it. Nine months into President Trump's second term, the near-term optimism that farmers once felt is waning and demand for mental health support services has surged.

🎁🔗: www.bloomberg.com/news/article... via @bloomberg.com
American Farmers Are Feeling the Pain of Trump’s Policies
US agricultural communities that had expected Trump to have their backs have found themselves flung into a second trade war. If the situation continues, it could put loyalties at risk.
www.bloomberg.com
September 18, 2025 at 1:05 PM
ilenapeng.bsky.social
Americans are eating a whole lot of #butter but the US is making even more, sending futures prices dropping down to the lowest since November 2021.

🧈🔗: www.bloomberg.com/news/article... via @bloomberg.com
America’s Butter Glut Is Driving Prices to Three-Year Lows
As America’s appetite for butter grew over the past few years, the dairy industry turned to cows that produce fattier milk and expanded facilities to meet the demand. They might have gone too far.
www.bloomberg.com
September 17, 2025 at 1:41 PM
ilenapeng.bsky.social
Your daily #coffee still seems fine but behind the scenes, US roasters have been scrambling since 50% tariffs on Brazilian beans took effect. Shipments from top coffee country have been postponed, while new deals have stalled.

☕🔗: www.bloomberg.com/news/article... via @bloomberg.com
US Roasters Shun Coffee From Brazil After 50% Tariffs Kick In
American coffee buyers are shunning fresh deals with top grower Brazil after President Donald Trump’s 50% tariff took effect this month.
www.bloomberg.com
August 21, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Reposted by Ilena
bloomberg.com
Growers fear that rising coffee prices will hit consumers already struggling with inflation, curbing demand on everything from popular everyday roasts available at grocery stores to luxury Kona beans.
Trump Tariffs Spell Trouble for Hawaii’s Few Coffee Farmers
Hawaiian coffee farmers have a message for President Donald Trump: Steep tariffs on major exporters such as Brazil will end up hurting them, too.
bloom.bg
July 19, 2025 at 3:30 PM
ilenapeng.bsky.social
#Cocoa prices, while still high, have cooled from records. But chocolatiers and food companies aren't in the clear yet, as prices surge for the typically cheap powder that lends chocolate and brownies their rich color and taste.

🍫🔗: www.bloomberg.com/news/article... via @bloomberg.com
Chocolate Makers Burned Again as Shortages Hit Cocoa Powder
Chocolate makers were already grappling with record prices for cocoa butter, which provides that melt-in-your-mouth feel. Now they are also paying up for the powder that lends their product its color ...
www.bloomberg.com
July 9, 2025 at 4:24 PM
ilenapeng.bsky.social
Pistachios are everywhere! A year and a half in, the viral Dubai Chocolate phenomenon is still going strong. US nut growers need that to continue, especially with a record harvest expected to start later this year.

💚🔗: www.bloomberg.com/news/article... via @bloomberg.com
Pistachios Are Everywhere Right Now, Not Just in Dubai Chocolate
Demand for the Instagram-friendly nuts have driven up margins for farmers, who are preparing for a bumper crop this fall.
www.bloomberg.com
June 30, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Reposted by Ilena
bloomberg.com
Demand for the Instagram-friendly nuts have driven up margins for farmers, who are preparing for a bumper crop this fall.
Pistachios Are Everywhere Right Now, Not Just in Dubai Chocolate
Demand for the Instagram-friendly nuts have driven up margins for farmers, who are preparing for a bumper crop this fall.
bloom.bg
June 30, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Reposted by Ilena
aggiedesousa.bsky.social
We at @bloomberg.com just launched Business of #Food, a weekly newsletter focused on how the world feeds itself.

Sign up here: www.bloomberg.com/account/news... #BusinessofFood
June 17, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Reposted by Ilena
bloomberg.com
In 2023, some of the world’s largest food companies made a pledge to slash methane emissions. They promised to publish data and action plans by the end of 2024.

Here's why Starbucks, General Mills and others are struggling to address the potent emissions in their supply chains.
Global Food Companies Are Struggling to Deliver Methane Progress
In 2023, some of the world’s largest food companies made a pledge to slash methane emissions. They promised to publish data and action plans by the end of 2024. Here's why Starbucks, General Mills and others are struggling to address the potent emissions in their supply chains. (Source: Bloomberg)
bloom.bg
June 16, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Reposted by Ilena
bloomberg.com
Soon, your morning glass of OJ will have even less fruit in it as Florida expects its worst orange harvest in nearly a century
Your Orange Juice Will Soon Have Even Less Real Orange In It
As orange supplies suffer from greening disease, the flavor and fragrance industry is developing workarounds to keep the taste of bottled juice consistent.
bloom.bg
June 15, 2025 at 4:00 PM
ilenapeng.bsky.social
Flavors are playing an even bigger role in the #orange juice supply chain, as trees hit by the citrus greening disease yield fewer — and more bitter — fruits.

🍊🔗: www.bloomberg.com/news/article... w/ editing by @silviakillings.bsky.social via @bloomberg.com
Your Orange Juice Will Soon Have Even Less Real Orange In It
As orange supplies suffer from greening disease, the flavor and fragrance industry is developing workarounds to keep the taste of bottled juice consistent.
www.bloomberg.com
June 13, 2025 at 12:41 PM
ilenapeng.bsky.social
The MAHA Commission report is coming soon. ICYMI, my colleagues and I last week unpacked some of the key changes RFK Jr. has previously talked about & how they would shape the US food system.

🎁🔗: www.bloomberg.com/news/feature... w/ @deenashanker.bsky.social & Agnieszka De Sousa via @bloomberg.com
RFK Jr.'s Quest to Make Americans Eat Healthier Will Be Costly
Ultra-processed foods have made US diets among the least expensive — and the most unhealthy — in the world. The health secretary wants to change that.
www.bloomberg.com
May 22, 2025 at 2:05 PM
ilenapeng.bsky.social
Health secretary RFK Jr. called sugar "poison" in late April, putting the sugar and sweets industries on alert at conferences in NY and Indianapolis last week.

🍭🎁🔗: www.bloomberg.com/news/article... with @kubz.bsky.social via @bloomberg.com
The Sugar Industry Had Dodged RFK Jr.’s Health Drive — Until Now
Sugar producers thought they had escaped Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again agenda.
www.bloomberg.com
May 21, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Reposted by Ilena
sarah-todd.bsky.social
Switching from seed oils to beef fat is a MAHA-approved move, but costs double. Great look from @deenashanker.bsky.social @ilenapeng.bsky.social & Agnieszka De Sousa at how expensive it will be for the food industry to switch to organic foods, natural dyes, & more: www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
RFK Jr.'s Quest to Make Americans Eat Healthier Will Be Costly
Ultra-processed foods have made US diets among the least expensive — and the most unhealthy — in the world. The health secretary wants to change that.
www.bloomberg.com
May 16, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Reposted by Ilena
deenashanker.bsky.social
Many of RFK Jr's policies and ideas for food are widely supported in the nutrition community. Some are not. Either way, they would drive up prices. My latest with my colleagues @ilenapeng.bsky.social and Agnieszka De Sousa.

www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
RFK Jr.'s Quest to Make Americans Eat Healthier Will Be Costly
Ultra-processed foods have made US diets among the least expensive — and the most unhealthy — in the world. The health secretary wants to change that.
www.bloomberg.com
May 15, 2025 at 11:04 AM
ilenapeng.bsky.social
Egg prices hit a new record of $6.227 per dozen in the March Consumer Price Index report that came out today. Here's why & what might come next, especially as Easter approaches.

🍳🎁🔗: www.bloomberg.com/news/article... via @bloomberg.com
Egg Prices Hit Record as Retailers Keep Costs High on Supply Fears
US inflation may have cooled last month but egg prices are still stubbornly high, and there’s no immediate prospect of relief thanks to bird flu and tariffs.
www.bloomberg.com
April 10, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Reposted by Ilena
shokooda.bsky.social
☀️My colleagues Josh Saul, @jendlouhy.bsky.social and I took a look at the impacts of Trump tariffs on America's solar industry.

Stockpile of panels in America may dull the immediate impacts of high tariff rates hitting countries in Southeast Asia, analysts say.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
US Solar’s Hoarding Habit Will Help Blunt Sting From Trump Tariffs
The US has imported about 80% of modules from four Southeast Asian countries that face big new levies.
www.bloomberg.com
April 4, 2025 at 4:19 PM